Aussie road rage on the rise

Tailgaters will be made to keep their distance in a bid to slash the heavy road toll caused by rear-end crashes.

There were 15 people killed and hundreds more seriously injured in 4000 of these smashes last year, according to new figures obtained by The Daily Telegraph.

The shocking statistics have prompted the government to install new road markings on one of state’s busiest roads as a visual guide to make drivers keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

Centre for Road Safety chief executive Bernard Carlon with the new signs warning drivers to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front. Picture: Peter LorimerSource:News Corp Australia

The markings are white, arrow-like chevrons that are non-slip and painted on a 13km straight section of the M1 Pacific Motorway, between George Booth Dr at Seahampton and the Palmers Rd interchange at Ryhope.

NSW upper house MP Taylor Martin said signs would tell motorists to keep two chevrons between themselves and the car in front — a space of 92m — allowing a safe response time of three seconds at the speed limit if something happened.

This is in-keeping with the road rules, which state drivers must stay far enough behind the car in front so they can stop safely to avoid a collision. Failure to comply is a $448 fine and three demerit points.

More than 1000 drivers were caught tailgating last year.

The M1 Pacific Motorway is one of the busiest roads in NSW. Picture: Nigel HallettSource:News Corp Australia

“Keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you is a basic road safety technique that we were all taught when learning to drive,” Mr Martin told The Daily Telegraph.

“The greater the distance, the more room you have to move if something goes wrong.

“During 2017 there were 4204 rear-end crashes in NSW that resulted in 15 fatalities and 753 people being seriously injured — these new line markings aim to help lower this frightening statistic.”

Mr Martin said the section of the M1 to be targeted was used by around 60,000 vehicles a day, a figure set to increase heading into one of the busiest periods on NSW roads.

Bernard Carlon, chief executive of the Centre for Road Safety, urged motorists to abide by the new guides.

In the past five years, 691 people were involved in crashes on the M1 between Wahroonga and Beresford, with 927 people injured, 260 of those seriously, he said.

“There have also been 14 fatalities in that stretch in the last five years, and for 37 per cent of those injured, the first impact was a rear impact — that simply means people aren’t leaving enough space,” Mr Carlon said.

“What we understand for people’s action response and reaction times are that someone (who) is alert, not impaired by drugs or alcohol, not tired, in a good state to be driving — if anything happened, your reaction time is a second and a half.

“Then your response time under ideal conditions for steering and braking is another second and a half. So to react and respond takes three seconds. At 110km/h, you travel 92m in three seconds, so we’ve put marks on the road so people can see the sign to keep two chevrons between you and the next car.”

Mr Carlon said the community response to the markings will be monitored, and if accepted positively, would be used on other roads.

The installation follows the announcement of a 12-month trial of heavy vehicle lane restrictions on the M1 between Wahroonga and Kariong.